Romney slams Obama for bringing up 'straw men'

Mitt Romney took after President Obama in his remarks to newspaper editors today, calling his scathing criticism of Republicans "rhetorical excess" that was full of "distortions and inaccuracies."

The GOP front-runner said Obama raised "straw men" in his remarks Tuesday at the American Society of News Editors conference and disagreed with the president's suggestion that Ronald Reagan could not survive in today's "radical" Republican Party.

"I actually think Ronald Reagan would win handily in a primary and frankly in all the primaries," Romney said during the question-and-answer period after his formal remarks. "I also think that our party is ... intent on preserving the vitality and dynamism of the American spirit that I think is being deadened by a series of government programs that have been increasingly invasive and have attacked economic freedom."

For the first time, Obama yesterday directly criticized Romney by name and mocked him for calling a GOP-written budget "marvelous." The president said that same budget is "social Darwinism" put together by radicals.

"President Obama came here yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making – and criticized policies no one is proposing," Romney said during his remarks at the Newspaper Association of America luncheon, held as part of the ASNE conference.

"It's one of his favorite strategies – setting up straw men to distract from his record. And while I understand why the president doesn't want to run on his record, he can't run from his record either."

In his speech, Romney argued Obama is waging a "hide and seek" campaign and sounded many of the same themes he did Tuesday night after winning three primaries and tightening his grasp on the Republican Party nomination.

He chastised Obama's handling of the economy and for his record during the past three years. Romney also couched the general election as one that will be a "defining decision" for Americans and offered his "different" vision of America.

"This election will be about principle. Freedom and opportunity will be on the ballot," the former Massachusetts governor said. "I am offering a real choice and a new beginning. I am running for president because I have the experience and the vision to get us out of this mess. "

Although he still hasn't won enough delegates to clinch the GOP nomination, Romney clearly has his eye on the general election. He is going to start raising money jointly with the Republican National Committee and he released a Web video today taking Obama to task on energy.

Asked about a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll showing he is losing to Obama among women in swing states, Romney played down the gender gap as something typically affecting GOP candidates.

"I think the Democratic Party has done an effective job in tryinig to mischaracterize our views," he said. "In the final analysis I will win by having the support of men and women," he said, stressing that by focusing on the economy he is appealing to both sexes.

After his victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Romney's allies and campaign are making the argument today that the GOP race is effectively over. Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, this morning called Santorum "irrelevant" and said it is time for the former Pennsylvania senator to make a "graceful exit."

Romney's campaign, meanwhile, noted in a memo to reporters that their candidate won his three victories on Tuesday with a diverse group of voters, including Republicans and independents, men and women, low-income voters, Catholics, Tea Party supporters and those at every education level.

Asked by ASNE president Ken Paulson if he has asked his rivals to drop out of the race, Romney said "no" before joking "now that you bring it up."

"I think people are free to make their own decision and respect their right to do so," Romney said, turning serious. "They have each invested a major part of their lives into the campaign. I hope that we're able to resolve our nomination process as soon as possible ... because I'd like to focus our time and attention on those key battleground states and on raising the funds to be somewhat competitive with the president and his billion-dollar quest."

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.